ARTSBEAT; Albee Play Is Postponed Again

By ALLAN KOZINN

Published: May 3, 2013

announced six weeks ago as a centerpiece of the Signature Theater’s 2013-14 season, has been postponed for the second time, the company announced on Thursday. Mr. Albee’s work was originally to have had its world premiere as part of the Off Broadway company’s 2011-12 season – its first at the Pershing Square Signature Center, its new Midtown space – but was postponed when the famously self-critical playwright, now 85, decided that it needed revamping.

In place of Mr. Albee’s work, the company will present the world premiere of “The Old Friends,” a new work by Horton Foote. The play, about two Texas farming families who find themselves at odds, will be directed by Michael Wilson, and will have Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote and Lois Smith in its cast. Previews begin on Aug. 20; the opening is scheduled for Sept. 12.">

Edward Albee’s “Laying an Egg,” announced six weeks ago as a centerpiece of the Signature Theater’s 2013-14 season, has been postponed for the second time, the company announced on Thursday. Mr. Albee’s work was originally to have had its world premiere as part of the Off Broadway company’s 2011-12 season – its first at the Pershing Square Signature Center, its new Midtown space – but was postponed when the famously self-critical playwright, now 85, decided that it needed revamping.

In place of Mr. Albee’s work, the company will present the world premiere of “The Old Friends,” a new work by Horton Foote. The play, about two Texas farming families who find themselves at odds, will be directed by Michael Wilson, and will have Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote and Lois Smith in its cast. Previews begin on Aug. 20; the opening is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Mr. Albee, who did not respond to email and telephone messages on Thursday, originally withdrew the play – a work about a middle-aged woman who is determined to become pregnant despite complications – he said that it was taking him longer to complete than he had expected. “I was overcomplicating things,” he said in an interview in The New York Times. That season, the work was replaced with one of Mr. Albee’s earlier plays, “Lady From Dubuque.”

Apparently, Mr. Albee is still not entirely satisfied with the work.

“We were hopeful when putting together the programming for next season that ‘Laying an Egg’ would be ready for production,” James Houghton, Signature Theater’s founding artistic director, wrote in an email, “but Edward let us know that he needs more time to work on the play. Edward is an integral part of the Signature family, and we look forward to producing this show in a future Signature season.”

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

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announced six weeks ago as a centerpiece of the Signature Theater’s 2013-14 season, has been postponed for the second time, the company announced on Thursday. Mr. Albee’s work was originally to have had its world premiere as part of the Off Broadway company’s 2011-12 season – its first at the Pershing Square Signature Center, its new Midtown space – but was postponed when the famously self-critical playwright, now 85, decided that it needed revamping.

In place of Mr. Albee’s work, the company will present the world premiere of “The Old Friends,” a new work by Horton Foote. The play, about two Texas farming families who find themselves at odds, will be directed by Michael Wilson, and will have Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote and Lois Smith in its cast. Previews begin on Aug. 20; the opening is scheduled for Sept. 12.">